UW to Host Dialogue Events on Social Media in National Elections

November 1, 2012 — The use of social media in Wyoming and national
campaigns and politics is the focus of two dialogue events Nov. 14 at the
University of Wyoming. The Malcolm Wallop Fund
for Conversations on Democracy hosts both discussions.

The public is welcome to attend both events and pose
questions to the speakers.

Kristen Landreville, assistant professor in the UW
Department of Communication and Journalism, and her students will present
results from their ongoing study, “Small Town, Big Election: A Look at New,
Alternative and Emerging Media Sources Used by Rural Residents in the 2012
Presidential Campaign,” at 2:30 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Family Room.

Landreville and the students are surveying Wyoming
residents to determine their use of online technology for political purposes
and why they are engaging with these media. They also are being questioned
about their use of emerging technologies and alternative media compared to more
traditional sources, and how these new media sources influence their attitudes
and perceptions about their trust in government.

Second, the Wallop Fund is sponsoring a discussion
titled “Social Media and the 2012 Election” in the Arts and Sciences auditorium
at 7 p.m. The discussion will focus on the successes and failures of social media
during the 2012 national election. Wyoming Public Media News Director Bob Beck
will moderate.

Speakers include Rita Kirk, director of the Cary M.
Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at Southern Methodist
University; Ann Marie Lipinski, former editor of the Chicago Tribune, now
curator of Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism; and Jimmy
Orr, Los Angeles Times online editor and former chief Internet strategist for
both President Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The speakers will address such questions as: Who
really has used social media for promoting their election campaign? Which
voters got left behind in the process? What are the dangers, if any, of social
media playing a major role in an election?

Gracie Lawson-Borders, associate dean of the UW
College of Arts and Sciences and social media researcher in the Department of
Communication and Journalism; and Bruce McCormack, publisher of the Cody
Enterprise, will question the speakers and offer their own insight on the
topic.